STREM Chemicals, Inc. Licenses New Class of Air-Stable Ni(0) Pre-Catalysts from Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung
STREM Chemicals, Inc. has licensed a technology based on recent developments in the field of Ni(0) (pre)catalysts from the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung respectively the associated Studiengesellschaft Kohle mbH. The new Ni(0)-olefin pre-catalyst provides a simple, scalable, and modular Ni(0) source which is stable to air and room temperature and retains the reactivity demonstrated by Ni(0) catalysts currently used in organic chemistry and industrially relevant transformations.
The history of Ni(0) complexes and their reactivity with olefins are tightly connected to the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, and date back to the mid-last century, with the serendipitous discovery of the so-called “nickel effect”. At that time, the team of Professor Karl Ziegler (director of the Institute) was working on the polymerization of ethylene to produce